Distracted
by rickmantic
Summary: Breezy drabble. On the Jolly Roger feat. distracted Emma. "Unfortunately, her unoccupied mind now had all the time to notice how Emma was not Emma in her presence. They would be participants of the same conversation and their eyes would hardly meet. She reminisced about how their confrontations used to be before the turnover incident, laced with hate.. fury... passion."


**Disclaimer: I by no means own Once Upon a Time or claim rights to the characters mentioned.**

Pre SQ, aboard the Jolly Roger after saving Henry.

* * *

_'1'_

_'2'_

___..._

_'6'_

_'7'_

_..._

"I am really happy you and Emma are getting along now."

"Well yes, when you've made magic together to save an entire town and then rescued your son from a mentally unstable shadow, the least you can do is get along."

Henry's innocent laugh danced around in the air at the way his mother's nose crinkled, like he'd gotten her to admit an aversion to apples.

Regina would forever continue to thank the Gods, the very ones she had disowned once upon a time, for this chance to be able to hear the precious sound again. But her mind, with a mind of its own, continued to wander to places she couldn't afford to visit.

Emma.

They were getting along per se, but she wasn't a stranger to how Emma had become one to her.

Ever since the curse broke this the first time Regina didn't feel like she had to be on alert every damn second of her day.

With her son back on her side she could finally breathe.

Unfortunately, her unoccupied mind now had all the time to notice how Emma was not Emma in her presence. They would be participants of the same conversation and their eyes would hardly meet. She reminisced about how their confrontations used to be before the turnover incident, laced with hate.. fury... passion.

'Where was that Emma Swan?'

"Hey Emma!"

Regina was pulled back from the past and onto the wooden vessel by the young voice.

"Hey Kid. Regina."

Regina smiled.

Emma smiled at Henry.

"Have you ever been on a boat before Emma?"

"No kid, I was always a city girl. You know, before I met captain Hook and...", Emma waved her hands emphasizing the ship which made Henry chuckle.

"I always fancied you'd love to live in a yellow submarine Miss Swan."

Emma snorted in surprise as she chanced a glance at the woman before turning to Henry.

_'15'_

"I'm starving, I'll check on the food scene 'kay?!"

_'16'_

"See you kid, Regina."

Regina stared at the retreating figure till she noticed her son hadn't waited for her to continue rambling. She straightened his hair and shook off the unnecessary thoughts from her head.

_..._

"Hey Emma, what are you doing here?"

Emma smiled slightly shaking her head, "Nothing, I was just going to get something to eat. Something up?"

"No, you just seem.. distracted."

"Not distracted, just you know, coping."

"I know losing Neal was hard."

"It was.".. "It is."

"Well I don't want you to feel you can't talk about it, because of Henry. Let me get you something to eat." Snow departed for the deck below.

Emma sighed in return, looking at the sky. No albatrosses.

_'18'_

Emma looked around to see if there was anyone in close proximity to her. She tightened her coat before looking at the bench on the other side of the ship.

_'19'_

Henry was practically bouncing off his seat, lips moving constantly in excitement. Regina's head kept bobbing occasionally in response. She brought her right hand up to her hair but stopped mid way when she noticed green eyes looking their way.

_'19 and.. a half?'_

Regina arched an eyebrow and Emma shook her head in return. The brunette rolled her eyes and removed her hand from her hair turning away form the blonde.

_'20'_

"What are you smiling about?", Snow returned with two oranges.

"Nothing."

"Gosh, I hate this wind, it's like never-ending... Makes me happy I have short hair."

Emma exhaled out a laugh pointing to her ponytail.

_..._

Regina held the boy closer and gazed at the open sea. The breeze carried Snow's inane chatter with it and the older brunette tightened her hold on Henry for comfort, resting her cheek on his head.

'I have Henry, for all I care the entire ship can be the focus of interest for clumsy blondes.'

The wind conspired with her raven locks to block her vision, keeping the woman from seeing the cloud Henry was pointing at. Regina grumbled trying to tune out Emma and Snow from the background and pushed her hair back behind her ear for the 22nd time that day.

But she didn't know that.

Only one person on the ship did.

And that person smiled inwardly before turning her attention back to her mother. Half of it anyway.

* * *

_Regina would always sing Yellow Submarine to her five-year old son during bath time as he played with the plastic replica, secretly hoping when he grows up he'd share her love for Beatles. He kept the toy sub but would dive every time she'd sing this song._

_Emma loved to hum Yellow Submarine as a teenager and that was one of the reasons the VW beetle had caught her eye._


End file.
